Three Juveniles charged in Edina and St. Louis park carjacking

Two of the young suspects involved in Saturday’s attempted carjacking in Edina. From Edina Police

Making their parents proud! I hope these brats are charged as adults! According to the Hennepin County Attorney office, they are ramping up prosecution on carjackings. Read it here!

From the Hennepin County Attorney office:

Three juveniles have been charged in connection to two carjackings in Edina and St. Louis Park, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Kanye Hardiman, 16, of Minneapolis, and 17-year-old Vance Chatman from Minneapolis, each face five counts of first-degree aggravated robbery charges for their involvement in separate, but related carjackings in Edina and St. Louis Park on Dec. 9.

Cayden Whitmore, 16, of Minneapolis, has been charged with two counts of first-degree aggravated robbery for his participation in the St. Louis Park incident.

Hardiman and Whitmore made their first appearances Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m. and they were ordered detained until their next appearances. The State has filed presumptive certifications motions on both juveniles, requesting that these respondents be certified to stand trial as adults.

According to the juvenile petitions, on Dec. 9 around 3:15 p.m., St. Louis Park police went to a grocery store upon learning of a robbery. When they arrived, an adult male victim informed officers that he was in his SUV in the parking lot when Chatman and Hardiman went to the vehicle and attempted to pull him out.

The male victim also stated that Chatman and Hardiman repeatedly punched him, while threatening him with a drill, pretending it was a gun. As a result of the attack, the male victim suffered multiple injuries. A witness also told police that either Hardiman or Chatman struck the male victim with the drill.

A second male victim in the grocery store parking lot walked over when he saw the commotion, asking Hardiman and Chatman to calm down. Hardiman then began to fight with the man, and did so until he and Chatman fled the scene in an awaiting, stolen SUV driven by Whitmore, the petition says.

About an hour and a half later, just before 5:00 p.m., the white SUV next went to an Edina grocery store. There, the SUV pulled into a parking spot next to an adult female victim who was sitting inside her vehicle. Hardiman and Chatman proceeded to enter the female victim’s passenger’s side doors—one in the front and the back, the petition says.

Hardiman and Chatman began to punch the female victim, while also attempting to push her out of the driver’s side door while her seat belt was still buckled.

As this occurred, the female victim was honking the horn, alerting other people in the parking lot. Two individuals tried to pull Chatman from the driver’s seat in an attempt to help the female victim. During the scuffle, one of the men was bitten by Hardiman, the petition states.

During the fighting, Chatman eventually put the female victim’s vehicle in reverse as he tried to flee the scene. In doing so, he struck another male victim in the head with the driver’s side door as he accelerated backwards, and ran over the male victim’s legs, the petition furthers.

The female victim was still entangled by her seat belt and was dragged through the parking lot as her vehicle was being driven by Chatman. She sustained significant cuts and scrapes as a result to her right shoulder, the petition says.

A witness, who has a permit to carry a firearm, intervened and pulled out a gun in an effort to stop the violence. Both Hardiman and Chatman jumped out of the vehicle and ran from the grocery store parking lot, the petition states.

Surveillance footage obtained from both St. Louis Park and Edina, in addition to witness accounts and tips from the public based on photos, helped identify the three juveniles involved. The SUV driven by Whitmore was found a block from Chatman’s home. It was towed and processed for evidence, the petition says.

A search warrant was executed at Hardiman’s home, at which time Hardiman and Whitmore were arrested. Clothing found on site matched what Hardiman was wearing during the St. Louis Park and Edina incidents.

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